Soap-tray



No. 750,815. PATENTED FEB. 2, 1904.

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` A. 33m. mitm@ 00% Patented February 2, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE O. COON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

SOAP-TRAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,815, dated February 2, 1904.

Application filed September 24, 1903. Serial No. 174,460. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it Wray concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. OOON, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soap-Trays, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in soap-trays, the object being to prevent the waste, unsightliness, annoyance, and unsanitary conditions due to the dissolving of the soap by lying upon wet and unventilated surfaces, as with soap-trays of the usual construction; and my invention consists, mainly, in a soap-tray provided with a supportingsurface for the cake of soap, composed of absorbent material, which will take up the moisture and allow a free circulation of air to the cake of soap.

The invention also consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, all as hereinafter described and claimed. i

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference is made and which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a soap-tray made in accordance with my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are like views showing modifications, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the supporting frame or standard shown in Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 2 designates the body of the soap-tray, which may be of porcelain, metal, or any other suitable material, and 3 designates a support for the cake of soap 4. The support 3 is of absorbent material, preferably a knit or woven fabric, applied over the top of the body of the soap-tray. The support3 may be applied over the top of the body of the tray in any suitable way, preferably by means of knobs, buttons, or hooks 5, attached to or formed upon the tray and upon which the support is hooked, buttoned, or otherwise fastened.

The sides of the body of the tray are by preference formed with one or more openings 6 to provide for a free circulation of air beneath and up through the support 3.

In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the support 3 for the cake of soap is attached to a separate tray 7, placed in the body of a soapdish, and the soap-dish is provided with a cover 8, which may be placed upon the dish, as shown. The tray 7 may be of any desired construction. As here shown, it is composed of a frame 9, of metal or other suitable material, supported by four legs l0, the frame 9 being provided with knobs, buttons, or hooks, or other suitable fastening devices l2 for attaching the support 3 to the tray.

In the form shown in Eig. 3 the absorbent support 3 is held on a frame 13, and the same is by preference made reversible-that is to say, the absorbent support is applied to both sides of the framewand for this purpose is made double or in the form of a sleeve, into which the frame is to be slipped, as shown.

I do not limit myself to any special material or form of construction of soap dish or tray or to any special means for applying the support 3 thereto, as the same may be varied and changed within wide scope, all within the spirit of my invention.

When the cake of soap has been used and in Wet and softened condition is dropped upon the support 3, the moisture is not left to continually soften and dissolve the soap, but is immediately drawn away from the cake by the absorptive and capillary action of the support. In other words, no suiiicient moisture is left to render the cake slimy, and hence, together with the ventilation allowed by the support 3, the cake soon becomes dry upon the bottom, as well as upon the to p and sides, which are exposed to the air, and even if not left a sufficient length of time to become perfectly dry before the neXt use nevertheless the cake will have sufcient of its moisture absorbed away so as not to be disgusting.

Besides they advantages stated a large waste of soap is prevented. In kitchen use in particular is this important, to say nothing of the manifest sanitary advantages. Not only is the soap kept from rapidly dissolving away, it is kept from sticking' all over the surfaces of the soap-dish, where it will accumulate dust and other filth and from which it can not be removed without careful washing. I/Vhen the support 3 requires cleansing, this may be quickly done by holding it under a spigot or it may be removed and easily washed and replaced.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv

1. As a new and improved article of manu-- facture a soap-tray having a suspended supporting-surface for the soap composed of fibrous absorbent material, for holding the cake of soap out of contact with the tray, substantially as described.

2. A soap-tray, a support for the soap composed of fibrous absorbent material, and means for attaching said support to and suspending it in the soap-tray, substantially as described.

3. A soap-receptacle provided with outwardly-extending projections on the side walls combined with a support for the soap composed of fibrous absorbent material, engaging l said projections, whereby it is held above the GEORGE C. COON.

Witnesses:

H. A. WEST, MATTHEW BURNS. 

